1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-display device having at least two flat display panels joined to one another and, more particularly, to a multi-display device having an improved display quality by visually compensating for a border defined between the joined flat display panels.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), and an electro luminescent display (EL) are well known exemplars of flat display devices.
In recent years, such flat display devices have been widely employed for a computer monitor and a wall-mounted television, as they are lightweight and thin in profile, in addition to being flat.
A common trend is to enlarge the size of the flat display to enhance use as a multi-media display. To enlarge a screen of a unit of display panel however, difficult and complicated technology is required; this increases manufacturing time and costs.
To solve the above problems, a foldable flat display device has been developed to reduce the size of the device.
As shown in FIG. 12, a conventional foldable flat display device is generally comprised of two display panels 2 and 4 pivotally joined to each other. However, in the conventional foldable flat display, because of a border 6 defined between adjacent sides of the panels 2 and 4, a user is able to see a clear separation between the panels 2 and 4.
That is, protecting films 10 are attached on the respective display panels 2 and 4. When considering that each of the protecting films 10 has a thickness of about 0.1 mm, a thickness of a sealant 8 is about 0.1 mm, and a gap G defined between adjacent sides of the panels 2 and 4 is about 0.1 mm, the whole width of the border 6 between actual display parts of the panels 2 and 4 becomes at least 0.5 mm. Therefore, the wide border 6 causes deterioration in the display quality of the device.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above described problems.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a multi-display device having at least two display panels foldably joined to each other, in which a border defined between actual display screens of the display panels is visually compensated for so that the user cannot see any separation between the two panels, thereby improving display quality.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a multi-display device comprising at least two flat display panels foldably joined to each other with a border defined therebetween, and light compensating means for directing light radiated from the panels toward an imaginary plane extending from a center line of the border of the flat display panels.
Each of the flat display panels is selected from the group of a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), and an electro luminescent display (EL).
The multi-display device may further comprise a protecting film attached on screen surfaces and adjacent side walls of the flat display panels.
According to a first embodiment of the present invention, the light compensating means comprises a plurality of inclined films disposed on the flat display panels and inclined toward the imaginary plane at a predetermined angle with respect to the screen surface of the flat display panels and a transparent member disposed between the inclined films.
The predetermined angle of the inclined films is gradually increased as the inclined films are distanced from the border. The inclined films are made of metal or resin, and the transparent member is made of resin.
According to a second embodiment of the present invention, the light compensating means comprises compensating lenses each disposed on the screen surfaces of the flat display panels such that each of the compensating lenses can cover the border and at least a row of pixels which is adjacent to the border.
A length L1 of a portion covered by the compensating lenses is set according to a following formula,
L1=L2/M
where L2 is a length of each pixel which is not covered by the compensating lenses and M is a magnifying force of the compensating lens.
The multi-display device may further comprise transparent layers deposited on a portion of the screen surfaces of the flat display panels, which is not covered by the compensating lenses.
In the above embodiments, the multi-display device may further comprise a diffuser disposed on the light compensating means.
Alternatively, one of adjacent walls of the flat display panels may be designed to be inclined at an angle of 1xc2x0-30xc2x0 with respect to a plane vertical to the screen surface.